Benjah – Vanity Fare | Album Review

‘Vanity Fare’ is an album that I believe will grab the attention of the Christian Hip Hop community. With veterans such as Da’ Truth, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, and more, this album has a refreshing blend on every track. Benjah offers an aggressive message with hard-hitting beats.

Benjah walks us through what the cost of vanity is and what we really should be focused on. The first track “Rainbows ft. Tedashii” starts out by saying that our flesh can’t get enough and is never satisfied. This track is vivid in describing how chasing our earthly motivations is nothing more than chasing a rainbow.

“Grizz ft. God’s Servant & Canon” is a hard-hitting track that blatantly motivates you. This track highlights working for Christ and what it takes to be a full time employee for God. The momentum from this track leads you right into “Action”. Benjah wants you to stop sitting on your hands and take God’s cue, that you should give your life to Him and spring into action.

“Stones” is a personal favorite of mine on this album. Benjah reflects on his past life (as I’m sure a lot of us do) and it brings back a lot of pain. After reminiscing, the hook comes in powerfully hard as Benjah screams “I’m not who I was, I got a new mind, I got a new grind…” and then he encourages us to drop our past in the illustration of dropping a stone.

One of the most personal tracks is “Abandoned”. This track really highlights how powerful God is after a lifetime of chasing your own vanity. It brings a sense of peace and reminds us that God never abandoned us even when we were running around in circles.

Afterthoughts:

Though this is not your typical hip hop album, I think that is the beauty of it. The variety of music on this album is outstanding. It has both aggressive and soft tracks which feature a different range of instrumentals. The bold message along with tender tracks really grab your emotions so you feel exactly what each track delivers.